I could write on and on for days about how amazing Beth was to work with. She truly made our dreams a reality and then some. I can’t say enough, that the best thing I ever did during the planning process was hire Beth. She was our very first vendor and it was the best decision. She wasn’t just another vendor through the process, she was like a best friend! No matter what happened – I knew I could call Beth – even if it was to vent about some crazy bridal party issue- she was always there to listen and offer suggestions! We even went so far as to hire her to photograph my Bachelorette party and Rehearsal Dinner – and the photos are amazing! I had a lot of little ideas and decorations in boxes by the time we got to the Wedding day, but no real clue how to pull it all together. Beth and her team (Shawna and Christina) did an amazing job of using EVERYTHING I gave them. They truly made our wedding day what it was. Everything was so much more beautiful than I could have ever imagined – and I truly owe it all to Beth! Not to mention, she handled all the last minute details and problems impeccably! I could not have asked for anything more out of a Coordinator. Beth really went above and beyond in so many ways to make sure that our day was perfect. At the end of the night, not only did she put all of our stuff up in our room - she decorated our room with flower petals, tea lights, and some of the wedding decorations to make it a special honeymoon suite! It was truly an amazing surprise!
Venue: Marriott Suites at Sand Key
Contact: Desiree Jacobs
Rating: A -
The Marriott was pretty good to work with through most of it. Desiree was more than accommodating about changes that we wanted to make. My wedding planner worked with her for the most part – but when I dealt with her she was always prompt with returning calls, etc. Unfortunately, 4 days before the wedding she told my coordinator that there was another wedding booked 30 minutes after mine ended! This caused a lot of stress and chaos while trying to decide how to handle pictures with the arch, etc. The day of the wedding Desiree was nowhere to be found – the conference room she had promised us to get ready in wasn’t prepared, etc. This was extremely stressful because I had nowhere to go and no idea what to do. I was standing in the middle of the hotel waiting for someone to figure out what was going on. Someone finally unlocked the room. Desiree showed up later in the afternoon and claimed she had car trouble. The hotel staff was very accommodating in the time that no one knew where she was, it was just hard because no one really had any idea what was supposed to be done. Thank god I had a wedding planner!!! In the end – everything turned out AMAZING, which is what really matters more than anything. The food was delicious (we did a prime rib buffet, chicken cordon bleu and shrimp scampi) and everyone raved about how good it was. I spoke with the GM at the hotel before we checked out and he did apologize and offered us some incentives for our inconvenience.
Photographer - Limelight
Contact – Christi and Ann
Rating: A++++
I don’t have our photos back yet, so this rating goes based on our E-Pics and overall experience with them to this point. I have NO doubt that my wedding photos will be just as amazing as my E-Pics were. Christi was wonderful to work with – she was very helpful in answering my questions and helping to develop a plan for photos for the day of. She was very organized and efficient, which allowed my husband and I to enjoy a few minutes alone before we were introduced (and we were able to eat some of the food from the cocktail hour). She was very accommodating with the photos that we wanted done. They were not in our faces (or our guests) during the reception – and everyone appreciated that. I am confident that they got some AMAZING pictures!
Florist: Dana Dineen
Rating: A
I had been warned in the beginning that Dana could be somewhat flakey to deal with, but that she had never let anyone down in the end. That statement could not have been more true. We made some revisions and it took a few months to get the updated contract from Dana, we didn’t even know what our final payment really was until after it was due. There was also some confusion over appointments and flowers the week of the wedding, which was somewhat stressful, but I was able to turn it over to my wedding planner to fix! In the end, the flowers were AMAZING! I had so many compliments on them. I could not have been any happier, and I really believe that I got more than my money’s worth!
DJ: Inspire Entertainment
Contact: Josh
Rating: A+
Josh was a great DJ! I had provided him with all the information for introductions, music selection, a must play and do not play list. He followed everything precisely and knew just what to play when! He really had the crowd up and dancing very early on! He did a great job of handling requests and knew how to keep things going.
All Things Paper: Paper Players
Contact: Michele Whitaker
Rating: A+++++
Michele was amazing to work with! We purchased our invitations, programs, and escort cards from her. When I wasn’t completely thrilled with the way that the front of the invitations turned out, she had the front card reprinted with something that I liked better. She was able to develop the programs and escort cards into exactly what I wanted, on a budget that worked for us. She was super sweet to work with and was always there to answer questions.
Cake: Chef Nelson
Rating: D
This rating may be a little biased. I will say that the cake looked very nice, and it was absolutely delicious. However, it was NOT the color that we ordered. We had ordered it with chocolate brown and light pink ribbon. When it showed up it had fuschia and chocolate ribbon on it. My wedding planner asked for it to be changed and they said that due to time and delivery schedule it could not be. I called him today to discuss this with him and he had a HORRIBLE attitude with me. He told me that the cake had light pink ribbon on it when he sent it out to be delivered, and that it wasn’t his fault. He proceeded to tell me that he hopes nothing ever goes wrong in my life, because if I was upset about a cake I’d really be in trouble if anything big ever happened. Granted, in the grand scheme of life, the cake isn’t a life altering issue. However, it was our wedding cake, it only happens once, and we paid good money for it. I met with him THREE times to ensure that it would be correct, and it was not. He could have simply apologized and come up with some sort of compensation for the error. His attitude when I addressed my concern with him is why I’m giving him a D.
Linens: A Linen Valley
Contact: Zee
Rating: A+
There’s not much to say here – they had a great selection and were able to work with our price range. Zee was more than happy to show us different arrangements and set ups when we went in. The linens were delivered on time, and looked amazing with everything set up. We used them for table overlays, chair sashes, and napkins.
Dress: Olga’s Bridal (Maggie Sottero – Krystalyn Marie)
Contact: Olga
Rating: A++++
I went to Olga’s after having a horrible experience at Alfred Angelo. Everyone at Olga’s was extremely welcoming – we showed up 20 minutes before they closed, and I just wanted to look through the dresses. They even stayed late so that I could try some on! While she didn’t have the specific dress I wanted, she went out of her way to get it ordered from Maggie Sottero and make sure that it was in before my wedding (we were close on time because of the first dress issue). The alterations were done in a very short time, and there weren’t any rush fees for that. They were truly amazing to work with – all very sweet women!